Urban agriculture is an activity of growing importance in cities of the developing world, including South Africa. This article focuses on informing public administrators about contemporary policy debates on urban agriculture. Key international debates on policy and planning for urban agriculture point to the vital importance of local institutional support for urban agriculture in order to maximise the benefits of this activity. The policy experience of the City of Cape Town is analysed as offering potential 'good practice' for informing local policy development for urban agriculture in South Africa.